CHICAGO (Friday, May 9, 2003) — U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Glenn “Mooch” Myernick today announced an 18-man squad to face Mexico on Wednesday, May 14 in Guadalajara at a time and venue to be determined. The team will depart for Guadalajara on Sunday afternoon.

The strong roster includes U.S. Men’s National Team and 2002 World Cup stars Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, who both played a full 90 minutes in a spirited 0-0 draw with Mexico yesterday in front of almost 70,000 fans at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Next week’s match versus the U-23 MNT of Mexico will mark the first time that the two players have appeared with the U.S. Under-23 squad since 2000. Donovan was a key member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that exceeded expectations and advanced all the way to the medal round and a record fourth-place finish in Sydney. The 21-year-old San Jose Earthquakes forward, who was just 18 at the time, scored the clinching goal in the 88th minute of a 3-1 win over Kuwait that helped the U.S. not only advance to the second round for the first time in history, but win Group C with a 1-0-2 record.

Earlier that year, Beasley was a part of the U.S. team that posted a 2-1-1 record and finished second at the 2000 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hershey, Penn., earning of two CONCACAF berths for the Olympics.

Both players made their debut with the U-23 MNT in the summer of 1999, helping the USA to a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, and will undoubtedly be counted on to lead the U.S. team at Athens 2004.

The roster also features young MLS stars like 2002 MLS Rookie of the Year Kyle Martino (Columbus Crew), U-23 team captain Kelly Gray (Chicago Fire) and goalkeeper D.J. Countess (Dallas Burn), a teammate of Donovan and Beasley on the U.S. Under-17 MNT that finished fourth at the FIFA World Youth (U-17) Championship in New Zealand in 1999. Three other players on that U-17 team – defenders Oguchi Onyewu (FC Metz -- France) and Alexander Yi (Antwerp FC – Belgium), and midfielder Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids) – were also named to the roster.

Also included on the roster are the top two picks in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, #1 selection and 2002 MAC Hermann Trophy award winner Alecko Eskadarian (D.C. United) and midfielder Ricardo Clark (MetroStars), who are expected to be two of the top rookies in MLS this year. Eskandarian led the U-23s in scoring in 2002, notching seven goals and two assists as the team posted a 6-2-2 overall record. Clark also had a big 2002, helping the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team qualify last November for this year’s FIFA World Youth Championship.

The U-23s have gathered just once prior in 2003, posting a 1-1-3 record on a two-week trip to Portugal in January. The U.S. was 1-1-1 in a three-game series against reserve teams from the Portuguese First Division before posting a pair of hard-fought 1-1 draws with Portugal and Russia as part of the Vale de Tejo International Tournament. After beating Russia 4-3 in penalties, the U.S. fell 3-1 in the PK shootout to the host nation to finish second in the four-team tournament.

The U.S. Under-23 MNT will begin qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in November, as they enter the tournament in the second round and will face the winner of a first-round match-up between the tiny nations of St. Kitts & Neves and Dominica, who will meet in a home-and-home series in September and October.